Phobias
by KuroiCaelum
Summary: Garnet grows weary of Zidane's true nature and forced him to go back to Lindblum to rejoin with his family in Tantalus. While he's in Dali, a familiar scene unfolds that reminds him much of his own a while ago...ZidaneOC Rating may change.
1. I:Social Phobia

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Final Fantasy IX content only Feona.

**Summary:**_ Garnet grows weary of Zidane's true nature and forced him to go back to Lindblum to rejoin with his family in Tantalus. While he's in Dali, a familiar scene unfolds that reminds him much of his own a while ago...ZidaneOC __bits of onesided ZidaneGarnet. Rating may change._

******

* * *

**

**I: Social Phobia  
_- the experience of anxiety regarding social situations, interactions with others or being evaluated or judged by other people_**

* * *

_"You are too childish, Zidane - please act more mature!"_

_"I thought you said you no longer stole!"_

_"You are no longer a child, why are you acting like one?"_

_"I-I cannot deal with your attitude anymore Zidane! Get out!"_

The blonde genome kicked a pebble off the large hill he stood on, an angry but solemn look in his aquarium eyes as a frown spread deeply across his face. His hair in it's usual long ponytail had grew long over the years and flipped carelessly over his shoulder while his gloved hands were shoved into his pants' pockets. He had been relatively short for a boy at sixteen but grew to be at least five foot ten now, something he was glad for.

His attire had taken a quick turn when he had reached the castle; formal wear was a must. Right now, he was wearing black dress pants that were slightly ruffled from the abuse he had given it when he was running and a white dress shirt that was pulled out from being tucked in. The top part was unbuttoned a bit. He had tossed the tie and the over coat near Alexandria land when he had left and threw them off in a fit of furry. His dress shoes were scoffed in many places, not that he cared.

As soon as he got to Lindblum, he'd make sure to change it clothes to the ones he missed. Garnet had thrown out his old clothes almost a year ago and he was forced to wear clothes like the ones he wore. Not only that, but he was forced to take properly and use actual words though he never did. There was a point in time when he would actually try but it seemed that Garnet was satisfied with anything he tried. He was happy they chose not to actually get married when he came back or this would have been much worst.

She had finally snapped after his rather loud out burst during the meeting with the council. He wanted to talk to her about leaving her regardless but it seems that she had said it before he could. Not that he cared at all. He just wanted to leave the hellish world he was in and the ruler of it. Out of the kindness of her heart, which he knew she still had some where but was lost in the impatience she had for him, had order to escort him there by airship. He didn't want anything to do with her and decided to make his way back there himself. He did it when he was younger.

With the three kingdoms in agreement, a large rail road was build over the entire mist continent to connect all of them together and make travelling easier for all. Zidane, livid and annoyed, had completely missed the fact he could have taken the train to Lindblum rather than walking until he had noticed the train tracks from the high place he stood. He had just went through the Ice Cavern and walked out freezing cold and still angry.

A sigh escaped him as he shook his head, a weak smile on his lips before he started to make his way down the hill. The closet place to catch the train now was Dali. After the events taken place a while back, he disliked the town for kidnapping Vivi because he was supposedly a 'mindless puppet' but taking the train seemed much easier to him. Besides, the sun was about to lower on the western horizon and he need to sleep.

Monsters, of course stopped him. They always stopped him. It was never more than he could handle though. Although the mist was gone, a few monsters still remained roaming the land but not as much as there used to be or he was sure the rail road would have been destroyed by now. Zidane light shook his hand as the monster dropped to the floor, disappearing.

He didn't have his daggers any more and had no choice but to use his hands and feet in combat. Luckily, he hadn't been out of shape since he had still stole things around Alexandria due to his nature and often made the guards angry, causing him to run from them while laughing - only until Garnet had stopped him and scowled at him as if he was a little child. With the monsters gone from his sight, the genome continued to make his way to the small village with the windmill.

It wasn't long before he reached Dali - it was still as quiet as he remembered. Some of the kids that used to wander around were now a bit older and not playing as much anymore but being resourceful. He glanced towards the open door of the inn, seeing a new owner from the last time he was here - not the one that caused Vivi to get kidnapped. With a small light yawn and a twitch of his tail, he started to walk into the inn.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Yeah, shouldn't you be in your home all by yourself?"

Zidane blinked, pausing from walking in and leaned back with his hand holding onto the door frame. There was a group of children semi-surrounding a young girl who was probably a bit younger than himself and had complete fear written over her face. For whatever reason, she didn't comment back but kept her hands over her mouth and back away from the children as they kept taunting her.

"Do you see her eyes? Who had purple eyes anyway?"

"Maybe that's why she's hiding!"

"Or she could just be a lonely freak!"

A frown spread on the blond face hearing the boy's last words, the grip on the door frame tightening slightly as the young girl held her head tightly, going into an almost fetal pushed away from the entrance to the inn, walking over to the children who were now laughing. They gasped slightly, seeing him walk over and scampered away. It was probably because he didn't look to happy about what they were doing.

'It's always this village...' He thought to himself, stopping near the girl who seemed to be shivering in fear. Kneeling down, he reached out his hand to touch her but she instantly flinched away before he even hand the chance.

"Are you alright?" He said in the softest voice he could muster at the moment. He was still upset with the Princess of Alexandria and now how the children were picking on her. She didn't respond to him but he could see her shivering starting so slowly go away. "I'm not here to hurt you miss." He lightly placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to jerk upwards.

The first thing he saw was her wide fearful purplish red eyes. Despite the fear, they were actually a lovely color. Her long brown hair was tossed, some strains falling in front of her face. She was hugging something to her chest as she backed away from him until her back hit the wooden fence. She wore a long sleeve white gown that reached her ankles. He let his hand rest on one of his knees as he stood up, staring down at her with a slight frown.

This had only caused her to flinch. "I apologize; I didn't mean to offend you..." He trailed off before cursing to himself lowly. Not all of his speech was taken from being with Garnet but he was used to talking partly proper now. A sigh escaped him as he looked at her. Her fear was toned down a bit but confusion seemed to take it's place. Seeing this, he reached out for her once more but she winced. "I promise I'm not here to hurt you, I just wanna see if you're okay." He said, a small but gentle smile on his face.

She stared at him, a confused frown on her face as her eyes showed much doubt to his words. Zidane fought the urge to frown himself. He had seen that same look on someone a long time ago; himself. Just like when he was outcasted due to his tail. Her eyes suddenly flickered to the side, seeing said tail and she gasped, covering her mouth once more. His tail twitched slightly at the reaction as he wondered if it was a bad or a good one.

"Here," He held out his hand despite his unanswered question. "Can you stand?" He asked her, tilting his head a bit to the side while her eyes moved away from his tail to his hand, trying to move away but the fence still stopped her. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. A small grin spread on his lips. "Do I need a reason to help someone?" Her eyes seemed to widen slightly at his answer as she looked back at his hand.

A hesitant look appeared in her eyes before she slowly moved one of her hand away from herself and placed it into his, wincing lightly at the contact as the smile widened on his face. Gently, he set her to her feet, causing her to gasp slightly. She probably didn't expect him to lift her up so easily. Her eyes stared at him briefly before averting her gaze downwards, a small blush of embarrassment on. He found it cute. Cute factor pressed more, seeing as her height made her reach just below his chest.

"It looks like you're alright." He said, giving her one glance over before getting another look. He may have been with Garnet for a while but that didn't stop his womanizing nature and his double taking. Now he wasn't with her, he could do want he wanted without being scowled at. "A bit...dirty from the road but you still look good." He grinned while her head snapped up to look at him with wide eyes, the blush only deepening. "I was only telling the truth, miss." He said casually.

But apparently too casually because she covered her face from embarrassment and a bundle of flyers that she had been holding fell while he couldn't help but laugh lightly at. There hadn't been many shy ones like this since he had just started his womanizing when he was younger. "Sorry - didn't think you'd be this embarrassed." He said, kneeling down to collect the flyers. Most of them were crumbled but they were all the same - it was about the rail road. "Oh?" He stood up straight, glancing towards her. "You want to go on the rail road?"

Lowering her hands to look at the flyer in his hand, she nodded her head briefly, the blush still glowing on her cheeks. "So, are you going some where?" He asked while she glanced up at him. A slight nervous and sheepish grin spread on his face as he scratched the left side of his lower back. "I should probably tell you my name before I go prying, huh?" He smiled at her. "I'm Zidane, little miss."

She stared at him for a while, her hands cupping in front of her with her index fingers pressing against each other to make a triangle while her thumbs did the same but pointed upwards. She seemed to be swaying back and forth shyly and couldn't meet his gaze. "M...My name is Feona." She answered in a quiet meek voice. Zidane didn't think she would have spoken to him.

"Well then, Feona," He started, smiling at her. "Are you going anywhere?" He hoped that she wouldn't say Alexandria or he might just 'accidentally' convince her not to go or his cheery attitude may drop.

Her purplish red eyes glanced up to him, "I...I wanted to go to Lindblum. I've never been t..there so..." She trailed off, while his eyebrows lifted in surprise and she started to look slightly fearful again. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't! I mean!" She didn't seem to know what she as saying.

"Hey now," The monkey tailed male tried to calm her down, setting his hand on her shoulder again which she flinched again from, causing him to retracted his hand. "There's no reason to freak out," He told her with a slight grin. "I was just surprise is all." She blinked in confusion. "I'm heading in the same direction so maybe we could...go together?"

Now she held a surprised look. "Y-You are?"

"Yeah!" He nodded his head, his grin slowly turning proud. "Actually, it's where me and my family live." He told her, "I could even give you a tour seeing as you haven't been there before and you'd probably get lost." He said, a warm but cute smile spreading on his face. "So, what'dya say?"

She stared him for a while, her eyes showing that she was debating to go with him or not. A blush started to form on her face, probably realizing she had been staring at him and gave a timid nod. "O-Okay..." She answered while he grinned.

"Great! Then it's decided!" He said, rather cheerfully. He had felt a bit lonely traveling from Alexandria to here, but it won't be for the rest of the way to Lindblum.

* * *

I got this Idea from my friend and her long list of phobias she found but I always wanted to write about Zidane but never found the time too....not until after Dissidia of course. I played FF9 a while ago so I do hope I got him in character. Anyway review please~


	2. II:Xenophobia

Bold/Italics: _**Song Lyrics**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Final Fantasy IX content, only Feona and my song lyrics.

**Summary:**_ Garnet grows weary of Zidane's true nature and forced him to go back to Lindblum to rejoin with his family in Tantalus. While he's in Dali, a familiar scene unfolds that reminds him much of his own a while ago...ZidaneOC __bits of onesided ZidaneGarnet. Rating may change._

******

* * *

**

**II: Xenophobia  
_The unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples._  
**

* * *

It was passed dawn and the sun shined brightly from the sky. Zidane had gotten a room at the inn, and told Feona to meet him at the train station so they could leave. She seemed a bit reluctant to go but went on her way anyway.

"Is... that all you're bringing?"

"U-Um..."

Feona was stand not too far from him, her fingers holding a small dirty brown sack by its dark white strings. Her eyes were averted away shyly just as she had always done when she would find him staring at her. A slight nod of her head gave him his answer. He wasn't really one to talk due to the fact he didn't care anything at all with him besides money.

"Never mind - it doesn't matter." He told her, not walking her to start another small freak out like she did before. "Let's just get on the train before it leaves, hm?"

He reached his hand to grasp hers and felt her flinched slightly at the touch. He was going to pull his hand away but he could feel her lightly gripping it afterwards, her eyes still facing downwards. A smile tugged on his face and he started to lead them towards the train station, practically dragging her along since she was walking particularly slow.

The train was already at the station, the doors opened to let anyone on while stewards stood outside of them to collect the gil to get on. Zidane glanced down at Feona who was too busy looking at the train with widened eyes. He wasn't sure if she had brought any gil with her - he had forgotten to tell her, assuming she had already knew due to all the fliers she had yesterday.

Regardless, he had some gil that he had _borrowed_ from Alexandria before he left, knowing he would need to take the train eventually. At the time, he just thought of getting the hell out of there. He just hoped they wouldn't notice and send an army after him - knowing Garnet's over precautions.

The monkey tailed boy stopped in front of the rather short ticket man. He looked up at both of them, flickering from Zidane to Feona. "Two people?" He said out loud before holding out his hand. "That'll be three hundred a person." The blonde almost winced at the price but rummaged through his pant's pockets anyway.

Feona had a tight grip on his hand with both of her own, looking at the train and kept her eyes away from boy in front of them. There was a nervous look on her face and she looked like she was about to run back to the village, but didn't make any moves to do so.

"...You kinda look familiar." The ticket boy said suddenly, causing Zidane to pause from his search and blink. "I could have sworn I saw you in the newspaper or something a while ago." That made the blonde freeze up. He had been in many pictures with Garnet due to the fact of them being together. He didn't think he would be recognized so soon; after all it was only five pictures or so that he had actually been in with her.

He let out a slightly nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah, well. Maybe I might have the same appearance as the person you're thinking of." He said, trying to end the conversation.

"No..." The ticker boy shook his head. "It was definitely you...I remember that tail of yours." Just as the sentence was said, his tail twitched. That was one of the reason he hated being the only Genome on Gaia.

He took out six hundred gil and placed it hastily in the boy's hand. "Here you are," He tightly held onto Feona's hand, causing her head to turn towards him. "Let's get on board." He said, pulling her on with him.

"H-Hey! Wait!"

Zidane chose to ignore him and walked down the aisles as far from the door as he could get. He didn't want people questioning him as to why he was here and not in Alexandria. He was sure they would figure that out soon enough by the Queen herself.

He slowed down, feeling Feona stumble a bit and turned his head towards her with an apologetic smile but she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at everyone else on the train, even more nervous than before. Her other hand was curled to her chest as she turned her head frantically from the right to the left. He had a feeling she just had some sort of fear with people rather than just the people from her village.

"Hey now..." He stopped, placing his other hand on her shoulder, causing her head to crank towards him in surprise. Did she forget he was there? "Don't worry - you'll be fine." He told her with a small grin while she averted her gaze downwards with a light nod. With that, he started to walk downwards once more looking for an empty booth.

The train had shifted forwards when they finally found their seats. Feona had jumped, looking around once more while Zidane almost chuckled at her rather clueless attitude. "You can relax, Feona. The train's just moving that's all."

Her violet-maroon eyes flickered over to him, blinking before she looked away with a sheepish look. "O-Okay..." She stuttered while he smiled slightly at her.

The whole time on the train ride, she was fidgeting with her fingers and looking either at the other seats or out the window. He knew the only reason she wasn't looking at him was because he was watching her. It wasn't that he was _trying_ to be creepy, but he just wanted to make sure she was alright. She was a nervous wreck.

**_Remember_**

_"Who is that kid?"_

_"Who is he? Don't you mean _what_ is he?"_

**_When you lost your way?_**

_"Yeah, he's the only one with that stupid tail."_

_"What a weirdo...who has a monkey tail?"_

**_And you couldn't be found?_**

_"Yeah what a freak!"_

_"Get outta here!"_

**_I went searching for you endlessly_**

_"Yes, my angel of death. But only until you came of age."_

_"The body becomes a vessel, which greets a new soul..."_

**_And I would say to you:_**

"Z-Zidane?" Feona's voice snapped him from his thoughts. He blinked his teal eyes towards her, looking a bit surprised while her eyes flickered away from him.

His tail slight swished from underneath him. "Is something the matter?" He asked her.

"U-Um..no." She answered him timidly while he tilted his head in confusion. There had to be something she had to say. She rarely spoke unless she wanted to ask something. Other than that, she was silent. Her eyes flickered over to him before instantly looking away when their gazes had locked. "Y-You were...just um...spacing out." She said, fiddling with her dress.

Zidane put his head straight. "Oh." He said lamely before giving her a slight grin, "Sorry about that. I was just...recalling something." He explained, glancing out the window as his grin dropped a bit and he stared into the morning sky.

"...Sad."

He turned back towards her, "Hm? Did you say something?" He asked her.

"Y-You looked...sad." She said, looking up at him. Her eyes seemed to want to look away but she kept them on him. "Y-You...still kind of...do." She murmured lowly, but the blonde had heard her. When she saw the sad frown spreading on his face, she instantly looked scared. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..! I mean, I wasn't trying to..!"

Zidane placed a hand on her head, causing her stop her rambling. "It's alright." He said with a small smile while she stared up at him with blinking eyes. "You're right, I was." He ruffled her hair a bit. She really reminded him of a child. "I was thinking about something into a past that I didn't really need to remember." He moved his hand and leaned back into his seat.

"I-I'm sorry for asking." She apologized, bowing her head a bit.

The blonde merely shook his head. "There's no need to say sorry." He gave her a grin while her head rose up, blinking at him. "You don't have anything to do with it." A sheepish look appeared on her face as she gave a nod with a slight blush on her face, her eyes flickering off to the side. His grin merely spread to her reaction.

The train ride took about six hours. They had to stop off at the South Gate and Gizmaluke's Grotto. Each time they would wait for an hour before continuing to travel. Feona had fallen asleep half way there with her head resting against the window. Zidane had remained up, staring out the window as memories of crossing these lands with his friends came to his head.

"Feona..." He started to lightly shake her when the train had come to a halt. "Feona...wake up! We're here." She started to stir a bit before she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looked around tiredly with a confused expression. Zidane couldn't help but smile at her. "We're at Lindblum now." He told her.

Almost instantly, her eyes got wide as her head jerked towards the side, staring at the window. "R-Really?" She asked, obviously trying to look for any sign of the city.

"Yeah, but you won't see it on this side." He told her as he got up. She stood after him as he started to move out the booth. He stopped, looking back at her partly cowering form and held out his hand for her. She stared at it but took it with less hesitation than before and he started to walk towards the exit of the train.

When they stepped off, she started to hide behind him and held his hand with both of hers tightly. He smiled slightly to reassure her as he walked towards the opened gates of Lindblum. She occasionally looked over his shoulder to get a better look but the gates blocked at lot from this angle except for the castle top.

As soon as he stepped through those gates and went up the stairs to the streets, a large smile spread on his face. He was home. He was in the place where he actually belonged and felt that he was.

He started to walk a bit faster than before, forgetting for a moment that Feona was with him and slowed back down. He glanced back at her. "I have to go see my family before I give you a tour, alright?" He told her and ceased walking, turning around. "You can come with me or you can wait for me here..."

"N-No!" She said quickly shaking her head vigorously. He blinked at her small outburst, not expecting it. The grip she had on his hand tightened as her eyes looking over at all the people walking around them. He could tell she was shaking - and rather violently too. "I don't...want to be left...alone."

Zidane stared at her, his eyes widening. Slowly a smile spread on his face as he placed his free hand on her head, smiling. "Alright, let's go." He told her while she stared up at him a small blush on her face as she realized she had just spoke up loudly and averted her gaze away.

He was glad that Lindblum didn't change over the few years. It still has its air cabs, districts and places of business. They rebuild the city very well. It looked like it wasn't even damaged during its attack. He wasn't surprised people didn't notice him - after all it had been a while. He still didn't want anyone to notice him. Explanations were too much of a hassle right now.

The air cab stopped at the theater district and Zidane was overly excited to see his old thieving group again. He was practically dragging Feona off and down the short walkway. She tried not to stumble but ended up doing so anyway. The monkey tailed boy slowed down as he came to the doors of his old hideout. A grin broke out on his face.

"It still looks the same as ever..." He murmured to himself, sounding completely prideful.

Feona stared at the building. "Y-You...live here?" She inquired timidly.

"Well...I used to live here actually." Zidane explained to her, scratching his backside with a slight anxious look while she seemed confused. "I was coming back from a place I didn't really belong." He told her while she seemed to understand that. A smile spread on his face again. "Well...time to say hello, Feona."

He felt a bit nervous doing this though he had no reason to be. With a small exhale, he started to knock on the door, hard, like he had always done. He made Feona jump a bit and hide even more behind him. After a few seconds, the unlocking of the door was heard.

"Really, how more appalling could this city become; Pounding on the door with the most unappealing and galling way possible..." The voice trailed off as the door swung open. Zidane was more surprised that the other guy was.

"Kuja?"

* * *

Whoa, that took a while for me to update. Sorry, for the wait guys and thank you for reviewing Hoshi, Eidolon Twilight Princess, and Bitingbullets. Oh, the cliffhangers how I love them...I'll try to update more. I'm starting to play the original game again. Those song lyrics are a part of my own song so I can take the credit for that C:


End file.
